, 1887-09-17
TWO BROTHERS.

! Bill AbVJ AZ ~ a AACNs nv NfcAh
men no longer sought an increase of
wages and a decrease of working hours.
What they now wanted was a complete
subversion of the established order of
things.
The troops, called in haste from every
point, wero not sufficiently strong in
numbers to quell the disorders. The
officers were uneasy, lest their soldiers,
exasperated by such continued alarms,
should fire without orders. In the day
while on the march, at night at the
mess, nothing was heard but talk which
seemed o presage a terrible engagement
the first time the two forces would come
together.
Over one Of the roads which cut
through the clark country" thirty SOL
diers were going at quickstep, under an
icy rain, beating full in their faces, and
increasing twofold the weight of their
equipments. With a sub-lieutenant in
command, they had left the village to
take charge of the Rebaux glass works,
which a gang of plunderers had been
threatening since early morn. For three
long hours they had been splashing along
through that black, sticky mire of coal
dust. Night came on, seeming but little
darker than the gloomy day which had
preceded it. On all sides were to be
seen nothing but drenched fields, here
and there . house of sinister aspect or a
wretched howell, which, though crum-
bling to ruin, might, nevertheless, be the
dwelling place of some human being.
At times the road would rise up an i'm
mense slope, and then even these sights
would appear so dimly to the soldiers
that they might have thought they were
marching over an aerial oad through
the gray clouds.
All of a sudden a CLEAN of light had
appeared in the distance. AT first they
thought it a signal of some kind, but it
had increased and spread to 30 great an
extent that they soon saw 1t was a o n
migration.
The sub-lieutenant cried out, "HaltI"
Then calling TO n of his soldiers he
asked, "Where is that fre2"
The soldier looked around him for a
moment to discover where he was, and
then replied: "'Tis the glass works,
lieutenant"
THE Rebaux glass works?'
"Yes, lieutenant"
And then like a shiver this sentence
spread through the ranks:
1.-THE glass works are on fret
EOl SOhlLLldiueu IL OlllCcIs
The men began their march anew,
deeply moved by the new disaster. One
only remained m~otionless at the edge of
the road. One of his comrades called
out to him:
Say, John, aren't you coming2"
81 am" answered John, catching up
with the others.
he was almost a child, with a hand
some, young head on a body that was
still slender. Although not quite 20, he
had already seen two years in the ser
vice. His mild, laughing face was pale
on that day; his open countenance bore
traces of uneasiness. He was worried by
the thought that his brother, his only
living relative, was a laborer somewhere
in that ~neighborhood, he knew not ex-
actly where. The two brothers, as \
general rule, very seldom corresponded.
Sometimes MANI months woul elapse
without their receiving news from each
other. They were very much attached
one to the other, however, and frequent
ly, in the evening, John would reopen
n read the scarce letters of his brother.
Now, during the past year JOIN had
received two that had not a little dis
turbed him. They treated of things he
did not understand. The workman, in a
string of d~eclamatory phrases, which he
had evidently heard in meetings or picked
out of Anarchist papers, conjured his
brother, in the event of a riot, moi to fire
on the proletary, but to shoot at his own
leaders. Johns very simple nature did
not readily understand who was that pro-
letary that was to be spared, but was
considerably shocked at the advice to fire
upon his superiors. BE had burned these
letters, deeming them too offensive and
dangerous.
Since the strikes had been disturbing
the country during the past month, the
full meaning of his brothers letters had
dawned upon his mind. 1t caused him
no little sorrow when he reflected that
perhaps Peter was enrolled in that army
Of rebels. He had written him kind
letters replete with affection and artless
advice, but had received no answers to
them, the workmen having probably re-
moved to some other village.
Since the campaign had opened the lit
tie soldier, who would not have finched
in the presence of q foreign enemy, was
q prey to the horrid fear that some day
he might unwittingly fire upon that
brother, tho idol of his affections. 1t
was this thought which made him so
anxious and kept him away from his
comrades during the hours of rest, which
put an end to his usual childish gayety,
and which had caused him to stand so
motionless in contemplating that distant
conflagration, listening to the indefinite
noises borne along by the wind, and ask
ing himself, with an anguish which
seemed ready to choke him, whether his
brother would be there.
The soldiers had started off, qu%ickening
their step. For a moment the ranks were
thrown into disorder by that black mud,
which at times formed real pools in the
middle of the way, compelling them to
pass around it, in single file, along its
border, for 100 meters or SO. The road
would then be leading over the top of one
of these high slopes planted with young
trees to keep the earth from washing
away altogether.
When the line was reformed John was
missing. His name was called, but he did
not answer. The men began whispering
to each other: some knew the uneasiness
of the young soldier, and Immediately
supposed that he had taken to flight so as
not to be compelled to fire upon the
workman.